My parents read, but not voraciously. I don't remember how or when I learned to read or to love it. My mom said I could recognize words before I went to school, and reading came to me easily. As an elementary student, I read every book in our classroom library every year.
I much prefer real books, mostly because it sends me back to childhood memories of the library in my hometown. The library had a specific smell, and when I opened a book, the book smelled that way, too. I read The Happy Hollisters, The Boxcar Children, and Irish Queen. I seldom had to pick a book because the librarian had a stack for me every time I came to visit. Something about that smell, that atmosphere, and the librarian started my long relationship with libraries.
We moved often, and I always needed a new library. Several towns didn't have one, so I relied on the school library. Thank God for the Hutchinson Library and their bookmobile that came to our small community once a month. I could check out four books by the rules, but that librarian knew I'd bring them back, so I usually checked out eight. She, too, was always ready with a stack for me to choose from!
By the time I was in college and a new mom, I could check out books for my children and me at the university library. During my years as a middle school English teacher, I read the entire William Allen White YAL list from inception to 2002, and wrote recommendations my students could access. I developed deep relationships with John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, Pat Conroy, and all writers of crime and mystery. I tried audio books because I commuted and seriously failed. I'm easily distracted and had to keep rewinding!
In 2002, I entered the world of administration. I tried to read for pleasure, but time was very limited. I was reading reports and state manuals, only reading numbered lists, bulleted points, red print and underlined words. I don't think I read 50 works of literature in the 19 years I was a working administrator.
Good Reads was the first app I tried. I remember recording all the books I'd read during college, the required texts that are considered the classics. Once in a while I'd record the latest Grisham or Cornwell, but I didn't really keep up. In just a couple of years, I had a Kindle original. There are still books on it I haven't read. I downloaded many books from Amazon free reads, and they are on my phone, just in case I need a book. Enter "the" spreadsheet. Since 2002, I have been recording books I wanted to read, predominantly historical fiction and non-fiction.
2022 was my first summer without a job. One of my retirement goals was to begin reading again. I missed it, and I had a great list. I went to town, got a library card from that very first library, and picked out three books from the TBR spreadsheet. Those first three books were torture, boring, too romancy. Stories seemed a slog. I had to read every word, and I couldn't skip pages. I had to retrain myself to read literature as opposed to school documents! Back to the library for three more books, and this time, I started to think of how I instructed my students to interpret and understand a novel. Within no time at all, I began to revel in the works of talented people, again.
I can't imagine what my life would have been without books - what I've learned, where I've traveled, and what centuries I've lived in. I love getting lost in a story, curled up in a chair with a cup of coffee and at least one animal in my lap. I give all the credit to those librarians who took notice and nurtured my love of books! Thanks to God for my love of words and thanks to adults who fostered my obsession with reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment